St Patrick’s Day

by Stephen

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‘Beannachtaí na féile Páraic’ or ‘Happy St Patrick’s Day’!

This Tuesday, 17th March, is St Patrick’s Day, the annual feast day that celebrates the patron saint of Ireland. The festival is a national holiday in Ireland, but is also widely celebrated (if not officially) in many parts of the world, particularly the USA.

Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain (Wales), and was captured by Irish raiders at the age of about sixteen. He was taken as a slave to Ireland where he lived for six years, before escaping and returning to Britain. After his ordination he returned to Ireland as a missionary. Key dates in Saint Patrick’s life can’t be fixed with certainty but it is likely that he lived from approximately the end of the fourth century (c. 385AD) to the middle of the fifth century (c. 460AD). The day we now celebrate as his feast day is believed to be the date of his death.

Saint Patrick was one of the earliest Christian missionaries in the British Isles, and although his work is not recorded in detail, his legacy is important for the example it set for others to follow.

There are many legends surrounding Saint Patrick. One of the best known is that he supposedly banished snakes from Ireland. One interpretation of this legend is that ’snakes’ were symbolic of the Druids at the time. Personally, I like to think that Saint Patrick simply asked all the snakes who wanted to stay to raise their right hands…

The Scoilnet Irish education portal has lots of resources relating to ancient Ireland. The BBC Religion site has more information on Saint Patrick, including a Radio 4 programme by Ian Hislop. The History.com website also has a wealth of relevant resources including a history of the feast day, video resources, and an ‘All Things Irish’ quiz. I’m sure a Google search will also reveal plenty of leprechauns, shamrocks and blessings.

If you’d like to practice your Irish, below is a video explaining how to say ‘Happy Saiint Patrick’s Day’ in Irish.

And below is a video clip from Heinemann Video Gallery illustrating the beauty of the Irish landscape. This clip is from the Secondary Geography section of the service:  Key stage 3 > Unit 20: Comparing countries > Section 7: Are there differences within each country? > Learning Objective: to identify regional differences that exist within a country.